RUSH (Montgomery Men #1) - C.A. Harms Page 0,2

I was going to be sick.

“Tonight was lovely,” I said, hoping to lighten his mood.

When Jase continued to look forward, ignoring my words, I knew it would be only a matter of time until he unleashed his anger on me. There was nothing I could do. He was past the point of reason, and I would pay the price once we were home. I prayed for a distraction. Anything that would take his mind off the things he felt I did wrong. At this point, I’d welcome a small accident that left us stranded at the side of the road.

Who prayed for things like that? Who would be so desperate for a way out that they would wish pain on others? But I was drowning fast and there was no way to save myself.

As the limo slowed to a stop just under the awning of our extravagant home, I tried to make peace one last time. “I’m sorry if I did anything wrong. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” My voice vibrated with fear even though I did all I could to hide it.

When the door to the limo came open, my entire body jerked in response. I was rooted to my seat, afraid to move as I tried to hold back the tears burning my eyes. Crying only made things worse because Jase truly enjoyed my fear. He enjoyed provoking then enhancing it until I cowered and begged for mercy.

When Jase stepped from the limo and stood outside the open car door looking back at me with his darkened eyes, I knew stalling would only make things worse. So after taking in a shuddering breath, I slowly slid toward him. He took my hand and helped me from the car, then led me toward the door. He didn’t even glance back at the driver, desperate to get me inside and show how displeased he was with me.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Paul. Have a nice night,” he told the chauffer dismissively as he continued to drag me inside.

Once the door was shut, he pointed toward the stairs without speaking a word. Feeling trapped and bound, I walked up the long, winding staircase that led to our massive master bedroom, which was the size of most single family homes. It should have been a safe haven, but it now held so many memories of terror that its mere existence made me shiver.

When I met Jase, he was the most amazing man. He was gentle and adoring and made me feel treasured and protected. But that shifted soon after we were married and he gained control of my father’s medical and financial choices. That was what he and his father did. They swooped in, played the hero, and treated you well until they had you in their hold without any way of escaping.

Not only had he done a great job of fooling me, he fooled my father too. But even after I found out what type of man I had married, I kept that knowledge from my father. His health was far too bad to pile that type of worry on to him. In my father’s eyes, Jase protected me and I had the life he’d dreamed of me having. My father would die with that image. I wouldn’t break his heart.

I stood in the center of our bedroom on shaky legs with my back to the door, waiting for the punishment I knew was coming—a punishment for my unknown crime. Sometimes I believed Jase made up my transgressions just so he could discipline me for them. He was a sick man with a darkness inside of him that terrified me. I would never understand how anyone could instill such fear into another and feel pride in doing so.

The click of the door shutting, followed by the flip of the lock made my stomach drop.

“Turn around, Kinsley,” Jase said with a raspy edge to his voice.

It took everything inside me to face him. I had grown immune to most of the things he put me through daily, but the buildup terrified me. The ugly names he would call me while laughing because they amused him, no longer bothered me. The way he made me feel less than presentable even though I’d spent hours preparing myself before we went out, no longer made me feel inadequate.

He would compare my breast size and the curve of my ass to other women’s, tearing me down slowly, stripping away my confidence piece by piece.